


space madness

by yououui



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15688833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yououui/pseuds/yououui
Summary: They’re still stuck. Together, but alone. Stranded in the middle of space. How long have they been there? How much longer will they last?Keith has failed them. He was right; he couldn’t be the leader they all wanted him to be. The leader they needed. He tried. He should have known it was doomed from the beginning.If Shiro were here though… Shiro would have been able to help them. Now, they’re going to die, alone in space. And all Keith can do is dream about seeing Shiro again.





	space madness

**Author's Note:**

> based around this beautiful comic: https://v-0-3.tumblr.com/post/176962941682/space-madness  
> please go give it some love! it deserves it, I can't count how many times I've looked at it since it was posted

Keith blinks slowly, fighting away sleep. He can’t calculate pi in his head like Pidge can, so he thinks of other things to keep himself conscious. Songs his father used to sing him, which used to get stuck in his head without warning but now, _of course,_ he can hardly remember. Conversations had. What he’ll say to Iverson when they return to Earth. Deciding if he should apologize to James, if he’s still there. Anything to keep himself awake.

He blinks again, then squints. He sees something ahead of him, some _one._ They’re coming from a far off light, silhouetted by it, their face shadowed.

“Guys,” Keith says, his voice much weaker than he wants to admit. They don’t answer. They must have fallen asleep.

Keith furrows his brows and tries to see it clearer. Maybe they can help? Although, if they’re floating alone in space too, there might not be much they can do.

Keith blinks once more, and in that split second the light fades. Left behind is Shiro, close enough that Keith can see stars reflected in his dark eyes. He’s smiling at Keith, and at the sight, Keith feelings something warm bloom in his chest. He’s not wearing a helmet and something in Keith tells him that he should be worried, that something isn’t right. Shiro seems to be breathing just fine though, and all Keith can do is stare with wide eyes. 

It’s like he’s lit from the inside out, like a star himself, a guardian angel come to save them.

_“Keith…”_

Keith’s brows raise in shock because he can hear Shiro’s voice, a voice he would never confuse, but he can’t see Shiro’s lips move. But it’s there, in his ear, close enough that Shiro might as well be resting his head on Keith’s shoulder.

 _“Come with me, Keith,”_ Shiro says. _“You don’t have to be alone anymore.”_

“I-I’m not,” Keith stammers. “The paladins-”

He turns and feels ice run through his veins when he sees the space behind him empty. No one is holding onto him. The others are gone. When did he drift away? Why didn’t they grab onto him? How long has be been by himself?

Shiro’s calm voice lulls him back. _“It’s okay,”_ He says, and Keith turns slowly to look at him again, incredulous. Hopeful. _“I’m here now.”_

Keith looks up at Shiro, _right there,_ so close and so real after so long of nothingness. He’s looking at Keith with _that smile._ Calm and confident, the one that would never lead Keith astray. The one person that Keith can always count on, that would never leave his side.

Keith doesn’t know what has him moving, just the insistent need to be _closer._ He reaches up to his helmet and begins pulling it off. There’s a faint voice in Keith’s head that he can’t quite hear, a feeling in his gut that he can’t quite place as he pulls his helmet from his head. It falls from his hands and drifts away in the freedom of space.

He drifts close to Shiro, close enough to touch, and he does. Their lips brush in a light kiss, and Shiro is so _warm._ He pulls back to look at Shiro and he reaches out. He needs to touch Shiro with his own hands, to feel his weight and his warmth and know that he’s really there, and-

Keith’s hand lands on Shiro’s cheek, and the illusion fades away.

Keith blinks.

When his eyes open, he’s back where he had started. He feels something hooked under his arms–the other paladins. Shiro is gone. Keith’s helmet is back on his head. His eyes are wide, staring at the spot Shiro had just been.

A dream? A vision?

He thinks of Allura’s warning.

Space madness?

The timed reminder blinks on his helmet, pulling him back to reality.

They’re still stuck. Together, but alone. Stranded in the middle of space. How long have they been there? How much longer will they last?

Keith has failed them. He was right; he couldn’t be the leader they all wanted him to be. The leader they needed. He _tried._ He should have known it was doomed from the beginning.

If Shiro were here though… Shiro would have been able to help them. Now, they’re going to die, alone in space. And all Keith can do is dream about seeing Shiro again.

“Shouldn’t we sound off?” Comes Lance’s tentative voice.

Keith narrows his eyes, stares at the empty space Shiro’s illusion left behind.

“What’s the point?”


End file.
